Fusang Sword Heart Diagram

Chapter 29: Apprenticeship Ceremony
On the arena of life and death, one is responsible for their own life and death. Even if Ning Fusang killed Chen Ming, it would be in accordance with the rules.

According to the sect's rules at the time, she had done nothing wrong and should not have been punished.

However, some elders within the sect felt that Ning Fusang's actions were excessive, completely disregarding the bonds between fellow disciples, and were far too cold-hearted and ruthless. At the same time, Yu Wanwu stepped forward and strongly advocated for Ning Fusang to be punished.

Thus, Ning Fusang, who had done nothing wrong, was punished by being sent to the Sword Washing Pool, where he stayed for three years.

She has never regretted her decision. If she could turn back time, she would still kill Chen Ming.

Ning Fusang was unwavering in his nature, but Yu Wanwu sometimes regretted his actions, wondering if he had been unfair to Ning Fusang. He often felt guilty towards this student.

But Chen Ming was also his student, and he died in the prime of his life on the Sword-Asking Platform.

After the incident of infighting among fellow disciples, the sect leader ordered the abolition of the life-or-death duel, and the original arena was converted into an ordinary sword-testing platform.

From then on, if disciples within the sect wanted to engage in combat, they could only wager external possessions, and could no longer wager their lives.

"Senior Brother Yang Ruo, I just practiced according to the instructions in the 'Spirit Refining Technique,' and I feel a bit of pain here. Is that normal?"

The young man's voice pulled Yang Ruo back to his senses. He stood up, walked over to the young man, and pressed his finger on the spot he had mentioned: "Is it here?"

"Yes, this is it. When the spiritual energy rushed here, there was a faint pain."

"This is the Jiaji Pass, where spiritual energy flows relatively slowly. You must proceed slowly and patiently, and not rush it," Yang Ruo quickly noticed his problem and pointed it out to him.
"Your Ren and Du meridians are not fully open. When spiritual energy collides with them, it is also opening up your Ren and Du meridians, which is why you feel pain. This is normal."

"Once the meridians are fully open, the speed of the circulation of spiritual energy in the microcosmic orbit will naturally increase. There is no need to rush now; just cultivate slowly."

After Yang Ruo pointed out a few more points to note, he was called away by another person who asked him about the method of guiding qi into the body.

One by one, everyone else has successfully guided their Qi into their bodies, while I am still stuck in the same place. This anxiety is really tormenting.

The matter of guiding qi into the body depends entirely on one's own comprehension. Even if Yang Ruo wanted to help him, he was powerless to do so.

He frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him: "If you really can't sense the spiritual energy, you can try using a Qi-inducing pill to help you."

Yang Ruo diligently instructed: "At midnight, Yin and Yang alternate, and the laws of movement and stillness are most easily perceived. Spiritual energy is relatively active during this time. You can try to draw Qi into your body several times during this period."

The disciple was still unsure, but since Yang Ruo had already said so much, he couldn't press the matter further.

At midnight, someone woke up from their sleep.

"Today's training is over. Everyone should go back and rest early."

As soon as Yang Ruo finished speaking, the crowd began to walk out of the preaching house.

After a long day of teaching, Yang Ruo was a little tired. He watched everyone's backs disappear into the night and muttered, "I hope nothing else goes wrong tomorrow."

He just wanted to finish teaching these three days of classes smoothly.

*
On the way back to Wuyuan, Ruan Sanniang intentionally or unintentionally kept her distance from Ning Fusang. She opened her mouth several times, but finally couldn't help asking:
"Senior Sister Ning, you had already won the sword duel, so why did you kill Chen Ming? Did you have a deep grudge against him?"

Ning Fusang suddenly stopped, and Ruan Sanniang's body also paused, frozen in place.

The girl turned around, her figure slender and graceful, her eyes filled with a frosty coldness: "He gambled with me on life and death, he lost, so he died, it's that simple."

After saying that, Ning Fusang left directly.

Ruan San Niang stood there stunned for a moment, then silently followed.

For the next two days, under Yang Ruo's leadership, everyone carried out training peacefully.

As the bell rang, the people on Chaoyang Peak couldn't help but look up and gaze into the distance at a majestic mountain peak.

"Is today the apprenticeship ceremony? Does the ringing of the bell mean the ceremony has begun?" "I wonder what the apprenticeship ceremony of the Southern Star Sword Sect is like, but I imagine it must be very grand."

"Three years later, when we participate in the outer sect competition, we will naturally be able to witness that exciting scene firsthand."

"Look at the horizon, the golden clouds have appeared, and the wind and snow have stopped."

Kaiyang Peak.

The bell tolled nine times, and the square was solemn and dignified.

Sect Leader Shen Hongxue and his wife Duanmu Meiqing sat in the central position at the head of the table, while the other elders sat on either side, each with a basket full of fresh flowers in front of them, and a faint fragrance of flowers floated in the air.

Gao Qingque, who won first place in the outer sect competition, stood at the very front, one step behind him, with Min Qianyun on his left and He Jiaxiu on his right.

They were the only two new disciples to make it into the top five.

Further on, there were seven disciples dressed in blue and white robes.

These ten people are the top ten in this outer sect competition.

Two steps apart, six people stood in a row, five rows in total. They were all the best performers in this outer sect competition and were eligible to enter the inner sect.

However, apart from the top ten who are guaranteed to become direct disciples, the remaining thirty people do not have the right to choose their own teachers.

Of course, if they are chosen by one of the elders above, they also have the opportunity to become his personal disciples.

Min Qianyun turned her head slightly to look at the girl on her right and asked softly, "Jiaxiu, which elder will you choose?"

He Jiaxiu's attitude was not good: "You will know when the flower divination results come out."

Min Qianyun looked dejected and turned her head away. She knew that having come in second place, she was destined not to receive a kind look from He Jiaxiu.

He Jiaxiu had always been the most outstanding among the new students in their class, and she never imagined that she would lose to anyone other than Gao Qingque.

Min Xianyun won against her, leaving a thorn in her heart.

An inner disciple came over carrying a tray. He Jiaxiu took a flower slip, wrote the name of the elder of the sect she wanted to join on it, and then handed it back.

Gao Qingque's gaze swept over all the elders above, and when he saw that elegant figure, he lowered his head, ran his palm over the flower slip, and left the name in his heart.

After taking back the top ten flower slips, Shen Hongxue stood up, stood in front, and picked up Gao Qingque's flower slip.

He didn't rush to look through it, but looked at the elders and smiled, "The first place in the outer sect competition is highly sought after. I wonder which elder will end up with this flower fortune slip."

"Sect Leader Shen, stop keeping us in suspense and just announce it!" an impatient elder urged.

Duanmu Meiqing couldn't stand Shen Hongxue's behavior either, so she took the flower slip from his hand and examined it. Then, she looked at Qingyang Zhenren.

Shen Hongxue already knew whose name was on the flower slip. He smiled gently and said, "The winner of this year's outer sect competition wants to become a disciple of Master Qingyang. I wonder what Master Qingyang thinks?"

Master Qingyang gestured to his disciple to reveal the wooden slip she had placed in the flower basket. Both sides were clean and unmarked.

Too far away, Gao Qingque couldn't see if his name was on the wooden tag. He pursed his lips, his heart pounding with nervousness.

The other elders smiled when they saw the clean wooden stick.

"Thank you, Master Qingyang."

(End of this chapter)